Really it's May? When I looked outside I thought it was February!

Cold weather

You would be forgiven for thinking it was February.  There's that winter chill to the air.

At home we had a fire lit, the heating switched back on and an extra layer on the bed last night!

Determined not to feel bad about it I found this clip - the weather lady's laugh is utterly infectious.  Cheered me up no end, hope it does the same for you!

Weather lady gets the fit of the giggles, click here

Why clean?

Why do we bother? Why do we care? There is days like this in everyone's life when they just don't know why we keep on cleaning up after everyone else, (of course I'm perfect and leave no mess around!).

So I'm asking.. Why clean?

Well I've got a couple of answers to that one.

• It makes me feel better to live in a clutter free, clean enviroment
• Clean homes give good karma!
• There's less stress when you come home to a home your proud of
• They say if you live in a clean home your more likely to be fitter and have more energy than those who don't (not sure I agree with that!)
• A clean house can save money (replacing items you still have (because you don’t know where they are), and eating out more often than you need to (because your kitchen is too cluttered and messy for regular cooking)
• When your home is clean and uncluttered you appreciate it more
• And let's face it, if we're honest one of the top reasons Less fuss less fights!

So! What's your reasons?

The Secret Garden Centre

What a lovely surprise on monday morning, a fabulous write-up on our product range on The Secret Garden Centre website

http://www.thesecretgardener.com/home/2405/blog/malones-cleaning-products/

This weeks Malones product winners!

This weeks Malones Product Winners are Katriona, Andrea,Amy,Sandra and Annette! Your products will be with you next week! We are giving away products every week for the whole month of may! To WIN MALONES CLEANING PRODUCT GOODIE BAGS JUST SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER http://malonescleaning.ie/sign-up-and-win/

This Weeks Winners of Malones Products

Congratulations to Rita Mylett, Mareen and Brian Corolan! This weeks winners of Malones Products! The competition runs untill the end of May with winners announced ever week. To win just simply sign up to our newsletter http://malonescleaning.ie/sign-up-and-win/

Dust-Proof Your Home

Any household cleaning tips would be remiss to not cover how to clear the dust in your home. Here's how to start cleaning dust from your home and where to look for it.1. Dust Mites

Toss throw pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and curtains in the dryer on the "air fluff" cycle for 15 minutes to banish dust. (To kill dust mites, wash and dry with heat — water at least 130 degrees; the "high" setting on most dryers.)

2. Dusting Tips

• Don’t use feather duster only spreads dust around.
• A clean paintbrush whisks dust from pleated lampshades, wood chairs, railings, and picture frames
• A blow-dryer on "cool" cleans books, knickknacks, and plants (real or not)
• Rubber gloves, dampened, sweep up pet hair from upholstery
• A clean white sock wipes closed mini blinds
• A slightly moist cloth attracts and traps dust; a dry one pushes it around. Plus, since dust particles are abrasive, dry rubbing can scratch furniture over time. A little water works fine, even on wood. The exception: Moisture and electronics don't mix (see chart below).
• Apply a small amount of polishing product to the cloth, then tackle the furniture. Spritz directly on surfaces, and you're likely to use too much, requiring extra buffing with a clean cloth (and buying polish more often). Fail to remove it all, and the smeary residue attracts more dust.
• Dust obeys gravity, so start by wiping the highest surfaces; let the dust settle, then work your way down.

Last, don't forget your upholstery — it's a major breeding ground for dust mites. How to deal: Use your vacuum's fabric attachment on all sides of the cushions as well as on the platform underneath. Sixty percent of household dust comes from outside — most significantly, from shoes. So have folks leave their footwear in the foyer or mudroom upon entering.

These are just a few household cleaning tips to capture and clear dust in your home. Do a scan with your eyes top to bottom and side to side and you'll find the other dusting hot spots.

WIN Malones Cleaning Products Worth €100!

Malones is giving away weekly goodie bags full of Malones Cleaning Products!

To be in with a weekly chance to win a Malones cleaning products goodie bag all you have to do is… Sign up to our newsletter! Newsletter Sign Up Now

A short guide to a safer, cleaner home

How safe are the cleaning products you use in your home?

We use cleaning products everywhere in our home and offices. Washing and cleaning our dishes, countertops, furniture, clothes, floors, windows, and now even spraying that “clean air smell” through the air. Makes you wonder what ever happened to opening a window!

In our war on dirt and germs we may often actually be making things worse. We are simply unaware of the significant health damage it could be causing our family and even to our pets!  Many cleaning products in fact are very harmful to the health of people, animals and the environment. Most of these products are made up of petrochemical components and have many disadvantages.

Here are some environmentally friendly cleaning tips for making your household a little greener.

• Toxic Chemical Cleaning Products

First things first: get rid of all those chemical-heavy cleaning products lurking under your kitchen sink. How many of those bottles read “Danger” or “Caution” complete with a frightening warning? Throw them out!

• Avoid poor indoor air quality

We hear the air inside a home or office can be more toxic than the air outside! This is because of the presence of toxic materials and substances. .Keeping windows open as often as possible allows fresh air in and keep toxins flowing out. This is especially important when cleaning your home.

• Minimise your use of  detergents and cleaning products
• If this isn’t too gratuitous we would advice everyone to use environmentally-friendly cleaning products

Here is a list of top plants for removing toxins from the air in your home

Sources of airborne Pollution

Plant solutions

Formaldehyde

Foam Insulation Plywood or Particle Board Carpeting Furniture Paper Products Cleaners

Corn Plant

(Dracaena fragans massangeana)

Spider Plant

(Chlorophytum comosum)

Philodendron species Bamboo palm

(Chamaedora siefrizii)

Golden Pothos

(Scindapsus aures)

Potted Mum

(Chrysanthemum)

Benzene

Tobacco Smoke Petroleum Products Synthetic Fibers Plastics Inks & Dyes Rubber Products Detergents

Dragon Tree

(Dracaena marginata)

Janet Craig

(Dracaena deremensis)

Potted Mum

(Chrysanthemum)

Gerbera Daisy Ribbon Plant

(Dracaena warneckei)

English Ivy

(Hedera helix species)

Peace Lily

(Spathiphyllum species)

Trichloroethylene

Dry Cleaning Inks & Dyes Adhesives Varnishes Lacquers & Paints

Dragon Tree

(Dracaena marginata)

Potted Mum

(Chrysanthemum)

Peace Lily

(Spathifyllum species)

Gerbera Daisy Ribbon Plant

(Dracaena warneckei)

We really wanted to offer our customers a safe, effective, natural alternative we hope we’ve achieved this with our new range.

If you would like to see our range on your local shop shelves please go to our Stock Malones page and fill out the form – we will do everything in our power to help.

No Gloves Required - Survey

We have deemed it to be our duty to consider the Irish Public's trends and approaches when it comes to cleaning. We also are trying to decipher the role of men in the household when it comes to cleaning, gardening and cooking. Our aim with this survey is to improve our approach towards the customer and try to better deal with the cleaning issues that any customers may have. We appreciate all help with this survey and if you could spare just a couple of minutes to take part in it that would be fantastic.

Please find the link to the survey below:

Malones Cleaning No Gloves Required - Survey

Women of Worth Awards 2011

Liz Waters was asked to give the guest speech at the 2011 Women of Worth Awards hosted by Drogheda and District Council last night. By all accounts it was a fantastic event and Liz, who spoke to a packed house, really enjoyed meeting the inspirational women of Louth.

When we get a few of the pictures, we'll pop them up but until then and to found out who was nominated you can click here.

Well done to the winners who were:-

The Winners of the 2010 Women of Worth Awards are:

Community presented by Siobhan Woods – Coca Cola International Services Mairead Sweeney, for her dedication & work on the St Vincent de Paul’s Santas Little Helper Scheme

Entrepreneur presented by Sarah Mallon – Louth County Enterprise Board Aoife Collins from Cake Couture – West Street Drogheda – Newly opened Cake decorating workshop & retail unit

Professional  presented by Graham Hughes – Drogheda & District Chamber Bernadette Mc Gory – Partner of Mc Grory Accountants Drogheda & the first Irish person representing an Irish Accountancy Body to be accepted as a Director of The International Federation of Accountants

Creative Arts presented by Carmel Riggs – Essential Magazine Collette Farrell, Calipo Picture & Theatre Co.

Malones enters RTE in style.

We really want people to trial and enjoy our products, so we dropped goodie bags into RTE today.

It is great how accessible our "personalities" are and amazing who you can bumped into while making a quick drop into either the television or radio centre. 

Liz (LizMcGPR) was just coming out of RTE Television centre when she bumped into John Murray of The John Murray Show fame.

There was a few things noted.

• John is as lovely in person as he is on Twitter ( @johnmurrayshow )
• He is very tall (and rather gorgeous)
• John and colleague Colm are very nice and helpful

We hope everyone in there likes our stuff as much as our customers!

T'is the season to declutter.... Tra la la la

Queen of Clean decluttering tips

I know even as I begin that this is going to end up being a series of articles on this one subject.  There is such a lot of information to decluttering your home it’s hard to believe!

However, one thing we all agree on - once done the feeling of satisfaction is worth the effort.  All the signs show a tidy, decluttered home leads to feelings of well being, a sense of empowerment and of pride.

We've put together a few of our first tips and thoughts - let us know yours and we will add them to our next declutter feature - because there will be one!

#1. As per one of our daily tips.  If you don't use it, wear it, love it - dump it! Be strong, be ruthless. It's the only way to succeed at decluttering.

#2. Much as we might dislike taking a look at reality.  Step back; pretend you’re visiting your home as a visitor.  Ah yes that lava lamp that looked so well with the dusky lighting from your student days not looking so well in the kids playroom now is it? Tastes and fashions change. No room for sentiment in decluttering, it’s for the bin!

#3. Every time you leave a room, take something with you that doesn't belong there and put it away or bin it (are you getting the theme?)

#4. They say you should start with the small declutter jobs. I'm a firm believer of booking a weekend when it’s all about the decluttering.  But go with what works for you.  If it is the former pick the small areas to work on and it tends to help build momentum.

#5. If you didn't listen to me above its time to listen to me now.  Roll up the sleeves and BLITZ the place.

#6. As my mother used to say, "Aim to have a place for everything and everything in its place". I used to really dislike that phrase and now I parrot it to my own kids - it works, you should see where we keep our shoes! 

#7. Sort in piles.  I tend to work on this basis.  For friends, for charity, to sell.

#8. And relax! Is that a glass of wine I see before me.....

Testimonial - Clea Nolan

Mum of Three Clea Nolan loves Malone's combination of eco-credentials and effective cleaning.

I try to be as environmentally aware as I can in everything that I do and this does not change when it comes to my home cleaning products!!

Malone’s is a favourite of mine as not only do I like to stay green but I find them extremely effective.

My home is full of wooden floors so the natural floor cleaner is in constant supply in my house!!

The shine from my floors is unbelievable and the smell of essential oils is just amazing, along with all of these benefits I have a 3 small children so I always have to careful in the products I use.

Spring Cleaning

Have you noticed the light? It's that time of year for...Spring Cleaning!

[meteor_slideshow slideshow="spring" metadata="width: 609, height: 285"]

When fridges are defrosted, bags of clothes are dropped down to the charity shop and the cupboards are emptied out...Yes, it's Spring Cleaning Time!!

For the OCD among us it’s the season we love to love, nothing better than donning the gloves and giving the home a good scrub down. However, so many people dread the need to spring clean. We’ve been cosy all winter (and goodness it was quite the winter this year) the windows have been closed, the double tog duvet is still on and the heating needs turning down.

Suddenly the days are longer, the season is breaking and the flowers are appearing – this is when we notice the dust, the lights that need cleaning, the pictures that require a damp rub and once we start the little jobs we keep seeing the larger ones yet to do.

On the positive side you should think of it as a time of year when you get to appreciate everything you own and indulge your house in a little bit of pampering. So let’s clean out those winter blues and get ready for the long summer evenings ahead of us (which will hopefully be warm!)

Before starting your spring clean remember:

• Make a cleaning checklist and schedule of when you will clean and stick to it.
• Identify the nasty spots in your house and how to tackle them.
• If others are living and breathing in your home- have them help!
• Gather all cleaning supplies – products, dusters, cloths and keep in one bucket.

To help you along you way we have compiled a list of top cleaning tips:

• As the saying goes, clean from top to bottom: Start at the top of a room; ceilings, lighting fixtures and obviously move your way down. This way you won’t dirty what you have already cleaned.
• Deep clean: Everyone is a secret hoarder, if you dont use it, love it or wear it = get rid of it.
• One room at a time: Clean one room at a time, this helps to complete the cleaning task faster. Also seeing the first room gleaming will give you a boost to move onto the next.
• Play music: Playing your favourite music will not only make time go faster but will also give you more energy.
• Allergies: If you suffer with allergies or asthma make sure to remove all mould from your home and to dust everything thoroughly. Open those windows to let the dust out as you clean.
• Flowers: When you’re all finished, pick or buy some fresh spring flowers for your home. They will brighten any room and also emit a crisp clean smell.

Woman's Worth Awards Pictures

You may have read my blog talking about the Woman's Worth Awards and as promised here are some of the pictures from the event!

Liz Waters & Siobhan Woods